King's Quest V vs. King's Quest VI

It seems that among the fanbase there is a divide, with one side generally feeling that KQVI (and the direction it represents) is the way the series should go, and the other feeling the same about KQV.

So I wanted to put them up against each other, get some discussion. Can be about any aspect of the game: Graphics, music, characters, story, world(s), etc--Any and all aspects of both games put up against each other.

I like the varying locales and characters way more than KQ6's as well. It's got almost everything. Desert, town, forest, dark forest, snowy mountains, beach, ocean, lush island, dark creepy island, and underground labyrinth. There's just so much to it that makes it seem like a huge full game.

I've always been a KQVI fan. There are several elements I like about KQV--the artwork, the locales, and the music particularly stand out--but there are way too many things that are impossible for me to defend and still frustrate me to this day.

King's Quest 6 is a great game, no doubt. But I find the story and gameplay to be much more enjoyable in KQ5 (dead ends and all. They never bothered me so much.) King's Quest 6's story was a bit too "drippy" and melodramatic for my taste.

Somehow I feel that KQ6 is the "LucasArts" title of the KQ series. It's the most approachable to a lot of people, excels in voice acting, and has a lot of writing. And, you know, it's all lovey-dovey and stuff, not that that's a LucasArts trait, but the "chick flick" approach certainly helps.

Somehow I feel that KQ6 is the "LucasArts" title of the KQ series. It's the most approachable to a lot of people, excels in voice acting, and has a lot of writing. And, you know, it's all lovey-dovey and stuff, not that that's a LucasArts trait, but the "chick flick" approach certainly helps.

I think the thing is the romance aspect of KQ6 is handled too gushily. It should've been more of a fairy tale romance. KQ6 I would say is the most CINEMATIC of the series. But I like the simplicity of KQ1-5 and 7/8. The thing is, a game can have a great, tight storyline without getting bogged down in it. KQ6 gets bogged down in in it's intriques--a fault shared by Gabriel Knight. One reason why I love KQ8 is that while it has an epic storyline, it doesn't feel mired in it.

I also, I think KQ6 feels sort of off-balance. On one hand, it wants to be a serious, mature game; on the other, it wants to be a silly sort of child friendly game. And the light parts of the game feel out of place, especially when looking at it overall, since overall it's a serious game.

let me ask you a question. Is your dislike for KQ6 recent, and does it have to do with your dislike for TSL/sudden against Jane Jensen stand?

I can understand preferring KQ5 to KQ6, and obviously there are reasons why someone would dislike KQ6. But KQ6 is, in all honesty, one of the best games of the series, a statement from fans and critics alike. It took everything that KQ5 did right (and wrong) and enhanced it.

I can also understand people not liking Jane Jensen's pen, but you can't simply compare KQ6 to GK. Instead, one must wonder about the versatility of the author writing something that felt so much like King's Quest when the subject matter is obviously not her preferred cup of tea.

So, my question is, is this a statement against Jane Jensen or are we talking about the merits of KQ6 --which, even you must admit that it was an achievement on its own to craft such a charming game, with a solid design that took care of the missteps of KQ5.

If we are going to say that KQ6 is a bad game because of whatever minimal touch Jane Jensen brought to it, then we must judge KQ5 with the same eyes and say that it was a bad game because of the horrible puzzle design that led to multiple dead ends all around. Everything else is of high caliber in both games, and that's where people may prefer one to the other, but both games did it right.

So, I ask again, do you just have a sudden thing against KQ6, or did you always feel this way about it?

KQ6 is indeed one of the best in the series. I'd say second best. It is certainly the most polished and presentable. But I favour KQ5 out of personal taste. I'm not bothered by the "bogging down" of intrigue or anything. I actually love that stuff. I loved the Black Cloak Society hints. I think Jane Jensen is a fabulous writer. KQ6 was indeed powerful and a fantastic experience and I have absolutely nothing against it. At all. I think everything was done very well. Nothing seems too dark or too mushy or whatever. I just prefer KQ5 as a better King's Quest game and the fact that it lends itself more to my tastes than KQ6.

I do not share others' opinions that KQ6 did too much of something. It almost seems to me that it's as much of a fad to dislike KQ6 nowadays as it is to like it.

KQ6 is indeed one of the best in the series. I'd say second best. It is certainly the most polished and presentable. But I favour KQ5 out of personal taste. I'm not bothered by the "bogging down" of intrigue or anything. I actually love that stuff. I loved the Black Cloak Society hints. I think Jane Jensen is a fabulous writer. KQ6 was indeed powerful and a fantastic experience and I have absolutely nothing against it. At all. I think everything was done very well. Nothing seems too dark or too mushy or whatever. I just prefer KQ5 as a better King's Quest game and the fact that it lends itself more to my tastes than KQ6.

I do not share others' opinions that KQ6 did too much of something. It almost seems to me that it's as much of a fad to dislike KQ6 nowadays as it is to like it.

And that's exactly how I should expect someone who loves KQ5 to feel about KQ6. To me, it almost feels like Anakin is making a stand against KQ6 only to favor the other games, or just to point out that Jane Jensen's writing is not the way to go with KQ, and not on the merits of KQ6 alone.

I say it because I notice he never has anything good to say about KQ6, which in my mind is just the result of building an internal hate for the game that grows bigger and bigger as he finds that more and more people that defend it and prefer it-- something that just started as a preference and the more he tried to defend other games, the more that his dislike grew over this title.

But we are talking here about KQ6 as a whole. A few imperfections doesn't make it a horrible game. Any game will have them if you start looking for them.